This paper looks at the power of social marketing campaigns in the light of World Bank data that places 43% of the Indonesian population under the poverty line.

A study from 2010 showed that Indonesian consumers with a high level of materialism were more likely to benefit from both actively and passively engaging in questionable (unethical) activities, finding also a strong materialistic attitude in a majority of young consumers.

The research seeks to find the intention to follow positive behaviours as reflected in social marketing campaigns or to participate in marketing campaigns initiated by corporations which promote equality.

The study comprises detailed data from a face-to-face quantitative survey among respondents in Jakarta, covering male and female participants, aged 25-44 years in December 2015 - January 2016.

The purpose of this paper is to expand the domain of brand positioning measurement by demonstrating how network analysis techniques are used in brand positioning research. View Summary

The purpose of this paper is to expand the domain of brand positioning measurement by demonstrating how network analysis techniques are used in brand positioning research. Using 12 sample brands in the electronic industry, this paper proposes a four-step process as a practical guide in analysing the effects of brand positioning on differentiation. Through the techniques of core-periphery structure, the paper creates four clusters to reveal differentiation of brand positioning. It provides clear arguments for using network analysis as the preferred method to capture the structure of brand positioning. The results have significant theoretical and practical implications for academic researchers and practitioners in the field of brand management.

How does the consumer emotionally process and react to messaging intended to prompt responsible behavior toward the environment? This study provided a psychophysiological method to analyze how certain combinations of elements in an advertisement generate different types of response. View Summary

How does the consumer emotionally process and react to messaging intended to prompt responsible behavior toward the environment? This study provided a psychophysiological method to analyze how certain combinations of elements in an advertisement generate different types of response. Psychophysiology is the study of the relationship between the mind and the body. Specifically, the authors investigated whether a message could activate the consumer's defensive motivational system (resulting in inaction) or the appetitive motivational system (inspiring positive physical action). The findings offer evidence as to what type of message is better at provoking emotion so as to increase the potential of such campaigns to elicit positive changes in behavior.

This paper investigates the meaning of sustainable luxury among the wealthy, who are the primary target group of luxury brands. View Summary

This paper investigates the meaning of sustainable luxury among the wealthy, who are the primary target group of luxury brands. In doing so, it highlights the interest of using a combination of semiotics tools (Peirce's and Greimas' paradigms) to analyse consumers' discourses. Indeed, understanding the sign-value of a brand in relation to the natural environment and society is paramount to the development of CSR activities, in order to avoid, on one side, being perceived as greenwashing and, on the other, losing the brand meaning and authenticity. Findings indicate that the luxury clientele opposes 'ascribed luxury' (discreet and emphasising traditional manufacturing techniques) to 'achieved luxury' (conspicuous and marketed). The contribution of luxury brands to society welfare should be located on a continuum between sustainability in ethos and along the supply chain, and pure philanthropic actions, both being worthy in consumers' views, and both being expected from luxury brands to different degrees, depending on the brand ascribed or achieved status.

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The mediating role of attitude towards values advocacy ads in evaluating issue support behaviour and purchase intention

Through an experimental design, this study examines the mediating role of attitude towards values advocacy advertising sponsored by Miller and McDonald’s. View Summary

Through an experimental design, this study examines the mediating role of attitude towards values advocacy advertising sponsored by Miller and McDonald’s. Adopting hierarchy-of-effects perspectives, the study examined the role of attitude towards the values advocacy advertising in evaluating purchase intention and issue support behaviour. The study results revealed that AValuesAdvocacyAd is a mediator for predicting issue support behaviour when consumers perceive a company’s value advocacy advertising as driven by public-serving motives. Purchase intention was directly affected by perceived public-serving motives of the advertisers. Further, a new construct, self-construal, was found as an antecedent to the cognitive construct, consumers’ perceptions towards the advertisers’ intention as public-serving.

This article explores the factors affecting college students' willingness to participate in a Facebook page promoting a specific social cause: binge drinking prevention. View Summary

This article explores the factors affecting college students' willingness to participate in a Facebook page promoting a specific social cause: binge drinking prevention. The study examined the effects of the interactions between medium credibility (trustworthiness toward Facebook) and perceived advertisers' motives (sponsored by a beer company versus nonprofit organization) on willingness to participate in the Facebook page through an experimental design. Also, motivational factors influencing medium credibility were examined. When students trusted Facebook, they were more likely to participate in the binge drinking prevention Facebook page. Students less engaged with the social cause varied significantly in their willingness to participate the Facebook page, depending on their perception of advertisers' motives in supporting social causes but not depending on the perceived trustworthiness toward the Facebook page. However, highly engaged students notably altered their behavioral intention based on the perceived trustworthiness of the Facebook page but not depending on the perceived advertisers' motives. Further implications and future studies are discussed.

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Are guilt appeals a panacea in green advertising? The right formula of issue proximity and environmental consciousness

This research examines guilt appeals in green advertising by clarifying moderating roles of issue proximity and environmental consciousness. View Summary

This research examines guilt appeals in green advertising by clarifying moderating roles of issue proximity and environmental consciousness. Advantageous effects of guilt appeals are produced in two contexts: promoting a highly proximal issue to consumers with weak environmental consciousness or promoting a less proximal issue to those with strong environmental consciousness. Guilt appeals are no more effective than non-guilt appeals when a low-proximity issue is presented to individuals with weak environmental consciousness. Guilt appeals backfire when promoting a high-proximity issue to highly conscious individuals. The implications of these findings are discussed, as are the limitations and directions for future research.

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The influence of consumer concern about global climate change on framing effects for environmental sustainability messages

It is becoming increasingly evident that current patterns of consumption are not sustainable in the long term. View Summary

It is becoming increasingly evident that current patterns of consumption are not sustainable in the long term. Clearly, the need to persuade consumers to adopt more sustainable lifestyles has never been more urgent. The present research contributes to our understanding of the effects of message framing by considering the potential moderating influence of consumer concern about global climate change within the context of sustainable consumption. The results of two experiments demonstrate that the US consumer’s level of concern for the message-specific issues moderates the strength of the framing effect; effects are larger when concern about climate change is low. In addition, when concern is low, more negative framing and a prevention focus have more favourable persuasive effects. The implications of these findings for consumer welfare and public policy are discussed.

This paper examines how market research helped clients developing the first solar photovoltaic energy (SPV) venture in Brazil, by identifying the public's myths and concerns, and testing reactions to develop and refine the key communication tool: a solar eco-label. View Summary

This paper examines how market research helped clients developing the first solar photovoltaic energy (SPV) venture in Brazil, by identifying the public's myths and concerns, and testing reactions to develop and refine the key communication tool: a solar eco-label. Research also led to the conclusion that a univeral SPV quality-seal would have a stronger resonance if used in institutional advertising campaigns instead of on product packaging alone.

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The effectiveness of advertising that leverages sponsorship and cause-related marketing: a contingency model

This paper shows that consumers are more likely to have ambivalent attitudes towards cause-related marketing (CRM) than sponsorship. View Summary

This paper shows that consumers are more likely to have ambivalent attitudes towards cause-related marketing (CRM) than sponsorship. Whereas consumers share similar positive perceptions of CRM and sponsorship, and attribute the motives behind them to altruism, their negative perceptions and attributions of CRM are more accessible than those of sponsorships. On the basis of these differences, this article proposes a contingency model in which suppressing the activation of CRM’s negative perceptions enhances the effectiveness of advertising that leverages CRM. The effectiveness of advertising that leverages corporate sponsorship, which is not associated with ambivalent perceptions, is less subject to the suppression of negative perceptions. The model includes two contingent factors, an individual difference factor and a situational factor. The results generally support the proposed model; the effectiveness of ads leveraging CRM improves when negative associations of CRM are less likely to be activated.

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Missing ingredients in cause-related advertising: the right formula of execution style and cause framing

In traditional cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns, marketers focus on a promoted product and ads contain CRM messages only in small print at the bottom. View Summary

In traditional cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns, marketers focus on a promoted product and ads contain CRM messages only in small print at the bottom. Some recent marketers have chosen to highlight the cause, with the product taking a lesser role in the advertising copy. The purpose of this research is to compare these two execution styles. Moderating effects of product type and cause framing are considered. Experimental results indicate that a cause-focused ad is more effective in hedonic product promotion and a product-orientated ad is more effective in utilitarian product promotion. An other-benefit appeal facilitates the effects of a cause-related ad to individuals with a hedonic tendency towards the product, and a self-related appeal enhances the effects of a product-orientated ad to those with a utilitarian tendency towards the product. The findings underscore the importance for marketers to learn more about how visuals work, and in turn suggest how practitioners can avoid negative consumer reactions to their cause-related ads.

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All for one and one for all: Targeting sustainability - the revival of 'virtues' in research and results

This paper describes a multi-client research project into the notion of sustainability. The research explores the meaning of sustainability from the perspective of both consumers and marketing, including their similarities, differences and opportunities of aligning the two. View Summary

This paper describes a multi-client research project into the notion of sustainability. The research explores the meaning of sustainability from the perspective of both consumers and marketing, including their similarities, differences and opportunities of aligning the two. Equally, it offers guidelines for incorporating messages relating to sustainability into communications, based on the psychology of sustainability, including how to overcome consumer cynicism by exploring the signals and aesthetics of sustainability. The multi-client backing of the project allows for new general insights as well as insights for different industries that want to include sustainability in their marketing.

Despite the growth of cause-related marketing (CRM), little is known about how consumers process cause-focused messages that contain emotional appeals. View Summary

Despite the growth of cause-related marketing (CRM), little is known about how consumers process cause-focused messages that contain emotional appeals. The present research seeks to further the understanding of guilt appeals in CRM by clarifying the moderating roles of product type and donation magnitude, and exploring the situations when a guilt appeal backfires. Although experimental results indicate that a guilt appeal is more effective than a non-guilt appeal, a guilt appeal backfires when the perceived hedonic value of a product is high. A high donation magnitude also eliminates CRM effectiveness of the guilt appeal. There is an interaction between guilt appeal and donation magnitude when promoting hedonic products with CRM. The findings underscore the importance for marketers of learning more about how guilt appeals work, and in turn describe how practitioners can avoid negative consumer reactions to their guilt appeals.

The recent economic downturn resulted in the rapid deterioration of the appeal of “classic” luxury propositions and an equally rapid rise in the demand of a new, ethically-driven aspiration, namely the sustainable notion of premium. View Summary

The recent economic downturn resulted in the rapid deterioration of the appeal of “classic” luxury propositions and an equally rapid rise in the demand of a new, ethically-driven aspiration, namely the sustainable notion of premium. This presentation combines scientific market research with trend analysis, re-framing and presenting the “algebra of the mind” of potential customers of premium value, with respect to the opportunities in sustainability. The approach is demonstrated by a case study in a project between Philips Design and Moskowitz Jacobs Inc. for Wharton School Publishing. The objective was to discover the properties of high end products and services, and the dynamics of aspiration that result in people’s willingness to buy them, resulting in higher margins for corporations - even in times of crisis.

Using a nationally representative sample, this study demonstrated the importance of psychographics in profiling cause-related marketing advocates. View Summary

Using a nationally representative sample, this study demonstrated the importance of psychographics in profiling cause-related marketing advocates. For specific social causes relating to minorities, public self-consciousness and a sense of personal and social responsibility appeared to be important predictors. For charitable causes, along with the two factors just mentioned, several other psychographic factors including interpersonal trust, religious belief, social networks, external locus of control, and advertising skepticism had positive relationships with consumer attitudes toward cause-related marketing. Previous prosocial activities such as charitable contributions and civic engagement also affected consumer support for corporate cause-marketing efforts. Practical and theoretical implications were discussed.

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The Effectiveness of Environmental Advertising: the role of claim type and the source country green image

Examines how types of environmental claims may affect the communication effectiveness of environmental advertising, and how a country's `green image' may moderate that relationship. View Summary

Examines how types of environmental claims may affect the communication effectiveness of environmental advertising, and how a country's `green image' may moderate that relationship. A study of an 800 sample in China, using a 4 x 2 factorial research design, demonstrates that both claim type and `green image' significantly affect the ad's effectiveness, and that they interact significantly. Therefore, when designing advertising containing environmental claims, marketers need to take account of how their target group already perceive the eco-friendliness of the source country: claims which are incongruent with existing perceptions are unlikely to be effective, and the problem is worsening as consumer scepticism about environmental claims grows.

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Cause for Thought: The Development of Cause Related Marketing in the UK

Describes the UK development of Cause Related Marketing (CRM), in which a business and a charity or cause forms a partnership to market an image, product or service for mutual benefit. View Summary

Describes the UK development of Cause Related Marketing (CRM), in which a business and a charity or cause forms a partnership to market an image, product or service for mutual benefit. The history of the CRM campaign by Business in the Community, started in 1995, with Research International as one of the members. Describes how market research has been used to drive this campaign. The research is covered in detail: a corporate survey to gauge commercial support, a consumer survey to assess consumer response, supported by qualitative research (all described). The benefits of the on-going partnership with RI, characterised by the same principles as inform CRM (integrity, transparency, mutual respect, partnership, mutual benefit). Illustration from a specific study (Norwich Union First Aid Campaign).

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Exploratory Results on the Antecedents and Consequences of Green Marketing

In this article the authors develop and test a model that incorporates external and internal antecedents and consequences of the integration of environmental issues in marketing. View Summary

In this article the authors develop and test a model that incorporates external and internal antecedents and consequences of the integration of environmental issues in marketing. The external antecedents of green marketing include consumer environmental sensitivity, competitive intensity and regulatory intensity. The internal antecedents consist of marketers' environmental consciousness and business sensitivity towards environmentalism. The integration of environmental issues in marketing is made manifest through the development and commercialisation of green products and the incorporation of environmental issues in marketing communication. The consequences of this so-called green marketing are reflected in the performance of a business. The model is tested on a sample of 138 Dutch manufacturing businesses using partial correlation analysis. The results indicate that environmental regulation is still the most important reason for marketers to adopt environmentally friendly marketing programmes. The results further show that businesses that voluntarily adopt green marketing are able to exploit green market opportunities and improve their business performance.

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Cause related marketing and consumer loyalty. What are companies doing and how does it work?

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Peter Hayes, ESOMAR, Integrated Communications, Paris, April 1997

As a new marketing discipline that deserves wider use, cause related marketing has been defined as: 'the activity by which a company with an image, product, or service to market, builds a relationship or partnership with a 'cause', or a number of causes, for mutual benefit'. View Summary

As a new marketing discipline that deserves wider use, cause related marketing has been defined as: 'the activity by which a company with an image, product, or service to market, builds a relationship or partnership with a 'cause', or a number of causes, for mutual benefit'. This paper provides three case histories of cause related marketing; reports on corporate research conducted among 450 British companies; and summarizes consumer research findings in the United Kingdom and United States.

As a result of media coverage and other events, public awareness and concern about the environment, particularly in highly industrialized countries, has grown. View Summary

As a result of media coverage and other events, public awareness and concern about the environment, particularly in highly industrialized countries, has grown. Given the desire of many consumers for environmentally sound products, many companies have begun to focus on the positive environmental attributes of their products in their marketing communications. This article examines a number of issues (eg consumer understanding of environmental claims and the regulation of such claims in the United States and Australia) surrounding the use of environmental marketing claims. Suggestions are then made for improving environmental marketing so as to yield real benefits for consumers and society.